Bogart Ale

Brewed by Atlanta Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Date: January 24, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Mellow Mushroom, Chattanooga
Appearance: clear gold, creamy white head, lots of tiny bubbles, scattered drippy lace
Aroma: light sweet malt aroma, light floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, nice earthy bitterness, nice long bitter finish
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Draft at Mellow Mushroom (Chattanooga). Poured clear amber color with an average frothy white head that lasted with good lacing. Moderate sweet citrus and toasted aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. Average drinkable beer.

On tap at the Mellow Mushroom in Athens, Ga. Medium gold pour with a white head, decent lacing. Pretty much of a neutral aroma. Flavor has some subtle bitter notes with an all around nuttiness. Slightly grassy in the back end. Overall, rather plain but refreshing and a good accompaniment to lunch.

The aroma is very balanced with both caramel malt and pine-citrus like hops. The appearance is golden with a small head. The flavor is like the aroma with good balance. The palate is smooth. Overall a well crafted beer.

This beer was served up at the Mellow Mushroom in Chattanooga, Tennessee under the suspicious moniker "Bogart ESB" and sported an Alice in Wonderland tap handle in the style of the Disney flick. Back in Atlanta, I had heard it was simply a tweaked version of their #’s Ale. NEWS ALERT: Actually, as of writing this review up, there’s a plug for the beer on Mellow Mushroom’s very own website. However, it’s being called Bogart Pale Ale on the site, which seems far, far more fitting as the beer I tried had little to do with traditional English ESB’s. Appearance: Clear, light copper body with a tall, fizzy, white head. Smell: Light pale malts with a light touch of graininess. Mild wafts of floral and vaguely citrusy hops. Taste: Mild pale maltiness with a light, indistinct sweetness. The flavor dries out rapidly, particularly as you pass by the spicy, floral, and only minutely citrusy hops and medium bitterness. Finishes dry and quite crisp. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-high carbonation. Drinkability: A very simple and basic beer that, along with their Reverend Mudbone, seems designed to be a relatively light beer to pair with food.

Advertised as the Bogart Pale Ale at Mellow Mushroom in Charleston, SC. Gold body. A bit blander than expected, but clean and crisp. Could be a good step up for BMC drinkers.

Tap, MM, Tampa. Pours golden, white head. Hoppy aroma, notes of citrus. Taste was light and enjoyable, some bitter hops, citrus presence with light malts. Not too complex, easy and straight forward. Not horrible but for a house brew, 5$ a pint was a little steep.

On tap at the Chattanooga Mellow Mushroom. This poured a golden color with a white head and nice lacing on the glass. The flavor was rather one dimensional with mainly lemons and a bit of a malt backbone. The finish was a little bit sour but also a tad bit sweet as well. Overall not a bad beer just boring.